Chapter 2: Sunrise at Dusk

Yesterday when Weiss and Yang had confronted Raven in her camp, Weiss hadn't believed her when she'd told them that magic was real. Even after Raven's practical demonstration, Weiss was still half-convinced that all she'd seen was an elaborate parlor trick. However, the longer she spent in Mistral the more she was forced to consider the possibility that her eyes hadn't deceived her.

The farm boy that Ruby's uncle had found, Oscar, had made things even more perplexing. Even if Weiss were willing to accept that the soul of Professor Ozpin was somehow inhabiting Oscar's body, she would have preferred a better explanation as to how, other than magic and divine punishment. She wasn't quite ready to concede that the world made even less sense than she'd previously feared, but at least the mystery of it all was something to occupy her mind. After her encounter with Yang that morning, she welcomed the distraction.

Weiss didn't regret spending time comforting Yang, but it had been very trying. She'd left Yang's room feeling emotionally raw. Eager for some relief, she'd wholeheartedly joined in with Ruby and everyone else that afternoon to participate in the training that Oscar, or rather, Ozpin was giving them. Like yesterday, it had been delightfully nostalgic. Once again Weiss had been able to pretend that she was back at Beacon, if only for a few hours. The illusion hadn't been completely seamless however; Yang and Blake had both been conspicuously absent.

Weiss's own personal training regimen had been severely curtailed while she'd been trapped in Atlas, but overall she'd been pleased with her performance today. However, she'd forgotten just how exhausting Ruby's boundless enthusiasm could be in such large doses. Now that the evening had come, Weiss had excused herself from the group and left Ruby, Jaune, Ren, and Nora to their own devices. At first she'd thought to seek solace in the guest room she'd been provided with, but she was far too restless for that. So instead she'd decided to wander through the sizable house's sprawling hallways.

Now that Weiss had gained some emotional distance from the traumatic morning, she was beginning to appreciate just how illuminating her encounter with Yang had been. She felt like she'd come to much better terms with her feelings. It would be a lie to say that she wasn't disappointed that she couldn't act on them, but now that Yang was safely beyond her reach, she felt much less nervous about the situation. It was simply better this way, she told herself. A real relationship with Yang would be fraught with peril. The fantasy of one was completely safe.

Weiss was actually hoping that her errant attraction toward Yang had been an anomaly. Her life was complicated enough without having to worry about desires that a distressing number of people wouldn't be willing to accept. Whatever the case was, Weiss was determined to get over Yang quickly. Silently pining away for her teammate wouldn't help anybody, least of all herself.

Weiss turned a corner in the hallway. Up ahead she saw a small stairwell branching off from the main path. Light was shining up from it. Weiss was surprised. She hadn't thought that anyone was in this part of the house right now. Intrigued, she walked up to the stairs and glanced down them.

Below, Weiss saw a large, open room. Her curiosity piqued, she walked down the stairs and found herself in an indoor sparring area. Practice weapons of every shape and size were mounted on the walls, and various pieces of training equipment were scattered about here and there. At the back of the room, a large pair of sliding doors were open to the outside, giving Weiss and excellent view of the night sky.

Weiss was about to head back up the stairs when she noticed something. In one corner of the room a punching bag was hanging from the ceiling. It was rocking back and forth on its chains ever so slightly, making a quiet creaking noise. Someone had been using it very recently.

Weiss walked over to the punching bag. She put her hand on it to stop its swaying. The bag didn't look all that old, but it was already sagging in the middle.

Weiss's eyes traced an invisible trail along the floor from the punching bag over to the sliding doors. She wasn't sure she wanted to follow it, but her feet began to move of their own accord.

As soon as Weiss stepped out into the night, she found that she wasn't alone. Yang was there, leaning against the outside wall of the house. She was looking up at the stars with a slight smile on her face.

Weiss had somehow expected to find Yang out here, but at the same time, she hadn't. She wasn't sure she was ready to see Yang again so soon. Contradictory emotions rose up in her. She wanted to leave, but she yearned to stay. She wanted to ignore how beautiful Yang was, but she couldn't help but admire how lovely she looked in the moonlight. Weiss's feelings got jumbled up inside of her until it became difficult for her to distinguish one from another.

Yang turned and looked at Weiss. The smile on her face got bigger. "Hiya, Weiss," she said.

The cheerfulness in Yang's voice caught Weiss off guard. When she'd last seen Yang she'd been a sobbing wreck. "Are you feeling better?" Weiss asked despite the answer being obvious.

"Lots better," Yang said. "Thanks for being there for me."

"It was no trouble," Weiss said, but inside she found herself conflicted. This—seeing Yang acting like her old, cheerful self—had been exactly what Weiss had wanted. But for some reason, she wasn't entirely pleased about it. It didn't seem fair that she was still dealing with this morning's emotional fallout while Yang had made a complete recovery.

"So," Yang said, taking a step forward. "What are you doing out here?"

"I was just…" Weiss started, but she trailed off when she realized that she didn't have an answer to Yang's question.

"You were just…?" Yang prompted. She took a few more steps forward. Weiss couldn't help but notice there was a certain sway in Yang's hips. She couldn't even begin to understand why, but she found the subtle motions alluring. It was distracting enough that she hardly even noticed as Yang walked up unusually close to her.

"Weiss?" Yang asked.

Weiss's eyes slowly traveled upward. She knew she needed to say something, anything really, but something about Yang's posture was making it difficult for her to concentrate. Yang's hand was resting on her hip which was cocked to the side. Her shoulders were relaxed, and her chest was thrust forward just enough to call attention to itself. Weiss desperately sought Yang's eyes lest she start gawking, but even there she found no relief. There was a glint in them that Weiss had never seen before. It held her gaze captive.

"Wei-iss…" Yang said, sounding amused.

Weiss shook her head to clear it. "I'm sorry," she said. "I suppose…I suppose I came out here to look for you." It was the only answer she could think of.

"Oh yeah?" Yang asked. She sounded excited, but Weiss had no idea why. Then, seemingly apropos of nothing, Yang said, "You know, I talked to Ruby this afternoon. She told me some interesting things."

Had Weiss been thinking clearly, alarm bells would have been going off in her head, but as it was, she was too busy marveling at how soft Yang's lips looked when they were this close. She absently asked, "What kind of things?"

"Nothing all that special," Yang said. "But she made me realize I've been overlooking something big."

"I have as well," Weiss said.

A hopeful smile crossed Yang's face. She reached out with her left hand and brushed her fingers against Weiss's cheek. The slight contact sent a shiver down Weiss's spine.

Yang started to pull away, but Weiss reached up and pressed her hand against Yang's, holding it there. She knew that Yang just meant the gesture as a friendly one, but she didn't want Yang to let go.

Yang's smile grew wider. Weiss would've sworn that it was bright enough to light up the night. Her eyes focused on Yang's lips again as they drifted closer and closer to hers. She silently longed for Yang to kiss her, knowing full well that she never would, which was why Weiss was taken completely and utterly by surprise when Yang did exactly that.

Weiss's eyes shot wide open, and she stiffened up as Yang's lips tenderly pressed into hers. Thoughts and emotions bombarded her faster than she could process them as she desperately tried to make sense of what was happening. The only thing coherent that managed to pass through her head was that Yang's lips were even more wonderfully soft than she'd imagined them to be.

Yang pulled back, but her smile quickly faded when she saw the near-panic on Weiss's face. "That was okay, right?" Yang asked worriedly. "You wanted me to do that, right?"

Weiss had barely heard a word that Yang had said, and speaking was beyond her at the moment. All she knew was that one brief kiss from Yang was hardly enough to satisfy the hunger that had awoken inside of her. She reached up, pulled Yang's head back down to meet hers, and kissed Yang soundly.

It only took Yang a fraction of a second to start kissing Weiss back. Weiss was loathed to admit that she was severely lacking in experience as a kisser, but she didn't let that hold her back. She threw caution to the wind and let instinct take over.

Yang's arms circled around Weiss and pulled her in close. Weiss could feel every dip and curve of Yang's body as it pressed into hers. A new kind of excitement shot through her, making her want even more. It seemed that Yang had the same idea because her tongue tickled Weiss's lips. Weiss opened up to Yang and let her deepen the kiss.

Yang pulled Weiss through the sliding doors, back into the relative privacy of the sparring room, never letting her lips leave Weiss's. Weiss felt herself growing lightheaded from a lack of oxygen. She pulled back just long enough to gasp in a breath of air before she attacked Yang's lips again. She could scarcely believe what was happening. She kept expecting to suddenly wake up and discover that this had all been a dream, but Yang's powerful presence convinced her otherwise.

Weiss's hands slid down Yang's back. They dug into Yang's jacket, but that wasn't enough for Weiss. She wanted to feel Yang's skin, and all the fabric covering Yang was getting in the way. Weiss let go of Yang with one hand and managed to squeeze it in between the two of them. She immediately started tugging at Yang's zipper.

Before Weiss could unzip Yang's jacket completely, Yang pulled back out of Weiss's arms with a surprised look on her face. Weiss suddenly realized that her attempt to remove Yang's jacket had sent a very strong message, a message she hadn't necessarily intended to convey.

A huge grin spread across Yang's lips. Weiss wasn't sure if it excited her, terrified her, or both. The situation was rapidly spiraling out of control. Weiss knew she should say something to Yang, but then Yang zipped her jacket open the rest of the way and let it fall off her shoulders to the floor.

Weiss was helpless to prevent her eyes from wandering all over Yang. The tight-fitting crop top that Yang was wearing left no doubts as to the delicious shape of her body, but it concealed just enough to let Weiss's imagination run wild with possibilities. The sight of Yang's well-defined abs peeking out from the bottom hem of her top and the entrancing swell of her breasts made Weiss's mouth go dry.

Weiss forcefully pried her eyes away from Yang's body, but all that did was make Yang laugh. Yang gave Weiss a sultry smile and said, "Don't be shy. I want you to look."

Weiss felt sweat beading on her forehead. Despite Yang having given her permission, she very pointedly did not look Yang over again. She still had her sense of propriety, even if it was in tatters.

Yang sauntered up to Weiss like a tigress stalking her prey. Then she hooked her arm around Weiss and pulled her in even closer than before. Weiss's breath grew heavy. Without Yang's jacket there to get in the way, the experience of Yang holding her like this was downright erotic.

Yang leaned forward and whispered into Weiss's ear, "Just wait. You haven't seen anything yet."

A deep blush colored Weiss's cheeks. She wasn't sure anymore if this was a dream come true or a nightmare made real. She wanted Yang to stop, but she was also desperate for her to continue. However, Weiss's growing trepidations were momentarily smothered when Yang's lips found her earlobe and began to nibble.

Weiss's trembling hands came up and wrapped themselves around Yang. She could feel the softness of Yang's skin and the wonderful warmth that was radiating from it. Yang's lips traveled downward, trailing kisses along Weiss's neck. A whimper escaped Weiss. Yesterday a friendly hug had been bold, new territory for her. This was far, far beyond what she could even describe. It was too much, and yet she couldn't bring herself to protest.

Yang reached for the clasp concealed by the jewel on Weiss's collar and deftly opened it, exposing more of Weiss's neck. Her lips slid down even lower.

"Yang…" Weiss said weakly, but she moaned as Yang found the crook of her neck.

Yang reached up and began sliding Weiss's jacket off her shoulders. Weiss felt the metallic tips of Yang's prosthetic fingers glide across her skin. It wasn't a painful or unpleasant sensation, but it was unexpected enough to push her ever so slightly out of the moment. Suddenly, Weiss's rational mind took control again, and she realized exactly what was about to happen if she let this continue.

"Stop! Stop!" Weiss said forcefully. She pushed Yang away from her.

"Weiss?" Yang asked, sounding baffled. "What's wrong?"

Weiss spun around and hastily refastened her collar. "I…I'm…" she stammered, hugging her arms around herself.

"Weiss, I'm so sorry!" Yang said. "I thought…! I'm sorry."

"No, it's okay," Weiss said, although her voice was shaking. "You didn't do anything wrong."

"It's not okay!" Yang said. "You…! When you…! I mean, Ruby said…!"

"You mentioned Ruby before," Weiss said. "What exactly did she tell you?"

"That you were into girls," Yang said.

"What?!" Weiss exclaimed, spinning back around. "I implied! At best implied! That I wasn't sure where I stood on that particular issue! And-and even if I did say such things to Ruby, why would you assume that meant you could kiss me!?"

"Well..." Yang started. "Ruby said you didn't want to talk to me about it. And then I thought about some of the things you said to me this morning about how you'd been thinking about me. And then outside just now it looked like you were checking me out. And then my hand on your cheek, and…. I guess I just…assumed?"

Weiss let out a breath. Her outrage had thankfully pushed away her anxiety over what had almost just happened. "I suppose I can see why you might come to such a conclusion," she said.

"So are you still, uh, undecided about girls?" Yang asked.

"Of course I am," Weiss said, crossing her arms. "Why would you think otherwise?"

"You were trying to undress me just a minute ago," Yang said, gesturing to draw attention to her noticeable lack of a jacket.

Weiss felt her cheeks get warm. "I was just…going with the flow," she said.

"Uh-huh," Yang said dryly. She clearly didn't believe Weiss.

"I'm sorry," Weiss said. "I shouldn't have done that."

"Don't be sorry," Yang said with a grin. "It was pretty hot."

"I'm being serious!" Weiss said.

"So am I," Yang said.

Weiss's blush returned yet again, even deeper than before. She tried to stay mad at Yang, but she found that her anger was quickly dissipating. "No. I should apologize," she said. "I misled you."

"No really, don't be sorry," Yang said. "I wasn't exactly expecting you to want to go that far right away anyway. Besides, it's way more fun if you wait until after a few dates for that kind of thing."

"I wouldn't know," Weiss muttered. "I've never done anything like this before."

"You mean not with a girl?" Yang asked.

"Not with anyone," Weiss said.

"Wait," Yang said. "Are you saying you've never been on a date before?!"

"Not one that wasn't arranged by my father, or at least heavily chaperoned," Weiss said.

Yang looked perplexed for a moment. But then she gave Weiss a tiny, sincere smile. "Would you like to go on one?" she asked.

Weiss was so used to her suitors having ulterior motives that she almost wasn't able to take Yang's proposal at face value. But she knew Yang. Yang didn't have an agenda. Yang didn't see her as a prize. Yang just genuinely wanted to go on a date with her. It was incredibly touching.

Weiss's anxiety returned but for wholly different reasons this time. A voice inside her head was screaming at her to say yes to Yang, but after what had just happened, she wasn't sure that she should listen to it. However, she didn't think she had it in her to tell Yang no either. She said, "I doubt we have time for something as frivolous as a date."

"Who said it would be frivolous?" Yang asked. "I take these things seriously."

"E-even so," Weiss stammered, "we have important things to do here in Mistral."

"According to that Oscar kid we're going to be here for like a month," Yang said. "We can't spend the whole time training."

"Yes, but…" Weiss said. She was rapidly running out of excuses, so she tried a diversionary tactic. "Why do you even want to go on a date with me, Yang?"

"Why wouldn't I?" Yang asked. "If I'd known you'd be into it, I would've asked you out sooner!"

"But what about—?" Weiss cut herself off when she realized what she was about to say.

"What about what?" Yang asked.

Weiss sighed. She reluctantly finished her question. "What about Blake?"

Yang's eyes narrowed. "What about Blake?"

"I thought you might be…interested in her," Weiss said.

"Why'd you think that?" Yang asked.

"The way you were talking this morning it sounded like you had feelings for her," Weiss admitted.

A scowl crossed Yang's face. She was silent for a moment. Weiss began to fret that she'd offended Yang horribly, but then Yang said, "Blake's my friend, Weiss. At least I thought she was."

"I'm sure she still is," Weiss said.

"Well I'm not," Yang said. "Part of being friends means being there for each other. And she's not here."

"Maybe she wants to be!" Weiss said. "Maybe she can't be here right now. We don't know what kind of situation she might be caught up in."

"Yeah. I guess." Yang looked down at the floor. When she looked up again, she said, "I never asked how you ended up in that cage. My mom's camp isn't anywhere near Atlas."

"It's a long story," Weiss said.

"I bet," Yang said. "But you don't have to tell it to me if you don't want to. What I'm getting at is that we've both been through a lot. I think we could both use something that'll make us happy."

"And you think that something is us dating?" Weiss asked.

"Yeah, I do," Yang said. "Don't you?"

Weiss thought about it. "I'd like to believe so," she said. "But I'm not sure if I really am…that way."

"Yeah, I know," Yang said. "You told me that already."

"I just want you to understand that things might not work out between us," Weiss said.

Yang laughed. "You're never sure if things are going to work out when you date someone. But…." Yang took a step forward.

Weiss could tell that Yang was going to kiss her again, and she didn't try to stop her. When Yang's lips softly met Weiss's, her eyes fluttered closed. This kiss was entirely different from the last. It was slow and gentle. Instead of explosive desire, it was filled with tender care. Weiss drank it in. Somehow this was far better than the frenzied passion from moments earlier. This she had no doubts about. This she wanted without reservation.

Yang's and Weiss's lips parted. Weiss opened her eyes and was greeted by Yang's beaming smile.

Yang said, "But I'm pretty sure that we can make things work. So what do you say, Weiss? You want to go on a date?"

"Yes," Weiss breathed.

"We can take it slow if you want," Yang said. "Since you're new to dating and all."

"I would appreciate that," Weiss said. "Just like I would appreciate you having more discretion than your sister when it comes to discussing my personal life with others."

Yang chuckled. "You can count on me."

"So…" Weiss said hesitantly. "How exactly do we go about dating?"

"Dinner tomorrow? Just you and me?" Yang asked. "I'll cook you up something good."

"You can cook?" Weiss asked, surprised.

"Yup! But don't tell anybody," Yang said with a wink. "I only cook for special occasions."

"That sounds lovely," Weiss said, and much to her surprise, it really did.

"Then it's a date," Yang said.

"I'll look forward to it," Weiss said. "Although in the meantime there is something you can do for me."

"Oh yeah?" Yang asked.

"I could use a hug," Weiss said.

Yang grinned. "Anything you want."

Yang's arm circled around Weiss, and she hugged her tight. Weiss sighed happily as she rested her head against Yang's shoulder. So much had happened to her over the past few months, but there in Yang's arms, she finally felt safe and secure again.

Weiss had no idea what to expect on her date tomorrow. She was having trouble even convincing herself that it was actually going to happen, but she was determined that it would. She finally felt like she was moving forward again instead of looking back. She would always treasure her memories of Beacon, but she was ready to move past them now and claim her future for herself. And with any luck, Yang would be a big part of that future.

Author's Note: I'm so glad that Blake is back with her team in canon.

Anyway, this was a very challenging story for me to write. Getting Yang and Weiss to hook up while acknowledging and paying respect to the established relationship between Yang and Blake (whether you interpret it as potentially romantic or not) was, shall we say, difficult. I'm glad I spread it out into two chapters. It gave me some narrative space to work with.

Well that's it for this story. I got some more one-shots brewing up. So I'll see you next time!

As always, I welcome constructive criticism. Please feel free to leave a review. And if you like what you've read, taking the time to favorite and/or follow really helps me out. You can also find me on tumblr (electronicyarn) if you want to send me a message or be notified of updates.